The religious influence on comics books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The religious influence on comics books - Essay Example In comic books, religion determines themes and plot development. Plot development determines the actions performed by the characters. In the comic book, â€Å"Our Gods wear spandex† religion (mythology and occultism) takes center stage in driving the plot. The lives of characters in this novel revolve around four key historical periods, the modern times, the Egyptian mythological times, the Roman times and the Greek mythological times(Knowles 30). Each religious period, produces characters with unique personal traits and moral understanding, extensively influenced by the respective period (Wandtke 26). This comic book narrates the emergence of comic superheroes in the 19th century (Knowles 44). It also relives how each character transforms as a response to drastic cultural change of this period. â€Å"Our Gods Wear Spandex† extremely focuses on the rapid spread of occultism in Western Europe and America during the late 19th century (Knowles 50). The spread of occultism during the late 19th century gives rise to four key categories of characters in this comic book. The Messiahs (Superman, Captain America and Spiderman), are selfless individuals; they sacrifice their lives to save the human kind (Knowles 53). The Amazons (Wonder Woman), the female collaborators of the Messiahs, they come in handy in saving lives (Knowles 56). The Golems (Wolverine and Punisher) are the antagonists; they are evil to the core. The fourth group known as Magic Men (Green lantern) applies magic in saving the world (Knowles 59). In this case, in respect to the period of history in which a comic book focuses on, religion plays a critical role in determining and developing personality trait of each character presented within the book. Secondly, in comic books religion presents the characters as subjects to super natural powers such as magic. Thoth the Egyptian lunar god was the pioneer of magic and one of the founding fathers of the